The sound of claws scraping against stone rang out as Luna landed hard on all fours, leaping back from the lumbering beast’s charge. Her hybrid form shimred beneath the blood-red sky, a perfect blend of beauty and nace. Fangs bared, tail arched, claws extended.
"Incoming on the left!" Aiden shouted.
Luna growled, twisting mid-air and crashing into a two-headed hound beast, sending it tumbling across the shattered plaza.
Aiden rushed forward, his dagger already coated with a faint blue sheen. He slashed once, twice—quick and clean—dismissing a smaller bat-like creature trying to flank Luna. The mont it dissolved into black particles, the system pinged.
---
SYSTEM NOTICE:
Floor 2 Monster Defeated.
Kill Count: 3 / 100
Remaining in Current Wave: 12
---
Aiden’s eyes flicked over the remaining enemies. Above each monster’s head floated a visible health bar. The colors told him everything:
Five with green bars – weak, disposable.
Six with yellow bars – manageable with effort.
One stood tall, armored in cracked obsidian scales, glowing red eyes, and a red bar.
Stronger.
He glanced sideways. "Luna! Focus on the brute. I’ll handle the flankers!"
Luna flashed him a smirk over her shoulder. "Try not to fall behind, Master~"
Aiden exhaled. Here we go.
He dashed forward, blade dancing in his grip, the sound of combat echoing through the war-torn streets. Behind him, Ivy and Lysandra stood in relative safety, sheltered behind a crystalline do shimring with soft purple light.
"Onii-Chsn, be careful!" Ivy called out, clutching her hands to her chest.
Lysandra sat beside her, maintaining the barrier with steady focus. Beads of sweat rolled down her temple. "Don’t shout, Ivy. The do needs stability."
"But—but what if Onii-Chan gets hurt? Or Onee-Chan? Or—!"
"He won’t. They’ve handled worse."
---
"Handled worse" might’ve been generous.
Aiden ducked under a horned beast’s swipe, rolled forward, then lunged up into its neck. The system dinged.
---
SYSTEM NOTICE:
Kill Count: 4 / 100
---
They were in Wave One. Each wave brought 10–15 monsters. New species. New combinations. Increasing complexity.
The system had made it clear:
’Clear all waves. Kill 99 monsters. Survive. Reach the final boss.’
It was a battle of attrition—and the dungeon wasn’t pulling punches.
Luna dodged a massive paw swipe, backflipped, then dug her claws into the beast’s spine. It howled, spinning, but she leapt free, eyes glowing.
"Master! Tag!"
He didn’t hesitate. He sprinted forward, Luna kicked off his shoulder, flipping over the red-bar monster while he slashed upward into its exposed belly. A fountain of dark energy erupted.
---
SYSTEM NOTICE:
High Threat Monster Defeated.
Kill Count: 7 / 100
---
Luna landed beside him, panting slightly. "They’re getting stronger."
"We’re only in the first wave," Aiden replied. "And we’re at seven. Keep pushing."
---
Back behind the barrier—
Ivy gasped. "Onee-Chan’s bleeding! Her arm—"
Lysandra’s brow furrowed. "Just a scratch. They need us to stay hidden."
Ivy sniffled. "I want to help too..."
Lysandra hesitated, then reached out and squeezed her hand. "You will. Soday. But right now... just trust them."
---
Minutes later—
The final beast fell with a cry, and the system chid again.
---
WAVE ONE CLEARED.
Kill Count: 15 / 100
SYSTEM NOTICE:
XP Gained:
Aiden: 210 EXP
Luna: 120 EXP
Ivy: 30 EXP
Aiden’s Level Increased: Lv. 14 ➜ Lv. 15
Luna’s Level Increased: Lv. 10 ➜ Lv. 11
Bond Points (Luna): 5
Bond Points (Ivy): 2
---
Aiden sat down on a toppled stone column, wiping blood from his brow. "Fifteen down."
Luna dropped beside him, panting. "Eighty-five to go."
From behind them, the barrier shimred and dropped. Ivy ran over first, throwing her arms around Aiden. "You’re okay!"
He smiled, patting her head. "Yeah. We’re good."
Lysandra followed, less urgent but still clearly relieved.
"That one with the cracked armor nearly took Luna’s head off," she muttered. "You two need to be more careful."
"Relax," Luna grinned, licking her claws clean. "I’m fast. He wasn’t."
"You’re bleeding."
"I’m healing."
Aiden chuckled. "Okay, okay. Enough. Let’s use this break wisely."
---
SYSTEM NOTICE:
Wave Two Incoming in 3 Minutes
---
"We don’t get to rest for long," Aiden muttered.
Lysandra pulled a handkerchief, knelt beside Luna, and gently dabbed the blood from her cheek. "Let at least clean you up."
Luna blinked, watching her. "What... being nice now?"
"You’re annoying," Lysandra muttered, eyes focused. "But... effective."
Aiden leaned back, watching the exchange with a smirk.
Ivy sat on his lap, looking up at him with concern. "Onii-chan? Are you tired?"
"A little."
"Want to sing for you?"
He smiled. "Maybe after the next wave."
---
Luna winced slightly as Lysandra gently dabbed the blood from a cut on her cheek. Her claws twitched, but she stayed still, her tail flicking behind her in restrained irritation.
"Ow—easy, Princess. Not all of us are made of crystal."
"I’m being careful," Lysandra replied calmly, though her hand slowed a bit. "You’re just twitchy."
"I just got done clawing through a twenty-legged nightmare," Luna muttered. "Little grace, please?"
Lysandra raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Her hand moved a little gentler now, carefully brushing away the streak of blood without eting Luna’s eyes.
Luna huffed, but didn’t pull away.
Aiden watched from a short distance away, Ivy curled up in his lap, dozing with a faint snore. He smiled faintly at the sight of the two girls—neither of them particularly expressive, and yet clearly concerned for one another in their own way.
"You didn’t have to patch her up," he said casually, breaking the silence. "She regenerates fast."
"I know," Lysandra said quietly, still focused on the task. "But she doesn’t heal clean if the wound’s left dirty. It could scar."
Luna blinked at that, then glanced aside. "...Oh."
Aiden tilted his head. That answer wasn’t born of annoyance or duty. It was... personal.
Luna’s voice dropped, softer. "Thanks... I guess."
"You’re welco," Lysandra replied, a little stiff. Then, after a pause, she added, "Just try not to throw yourself into the next wave like a lunatic."
Luna scoffed. "Please. I am a lunatic."
Aiden chuckled. "That checks out."
Luna turned to him with a mock glare. "You should be defending , Master~"
"I would," Aiden said dryly, stroking Ivy’s hair as she shifted in his lap, "but Ly’s not wrong. You do throw yourself into things."
"Like you," Luna added with a wink as she padded over to him and plopped herself down firmly at his side. Her tail wrapped around his leg, her body pressed against him possessively.
Aiden gave her a sideways look. "You’re not even pretending to give space anymore."
"Nope," Luna said happily, curling tighter against him. "You’re warm. And I earned this snuggle."
Ivy stirred in his lap and peeked up with a sleepy smile. "Onee-chan is hugging Onii-chan again..."
"Mhm," Luna said proudly. "I’m his number one snuggle wolf."
"I wanna snuggle too!" Ivy declared, imdiately crawling up Aiden’s chest and hugging his neck.
Now buried under two girls, Aiden groaned. "I’m not a bed."
"You are," Luna corrected. "A bed. A pillow. A heat source. And my future husband~"
Lysandra stood a few steps away now, arms crossed and brow furrowed as she looked at the absurd sight of Aiden pinned under his clingy companions. "...You look ridiculous."
"And yet strangely fulfilled," Aiden muttered, barely able to move his arms.
Lysandra exhaled slowly and turned her face away. "Don’t get used to it."
"Oh, I already have," Luna smirked, tightening her grip. "This is my throne."
Aiden snorted. "And here I thought you were my wolf."
"I can be both."
Ivy giggled and nuzzled against him. "Onii-chan is the best pillow..."
"I regret nothing," Aiden said with a defeated smile.
Lysandra muttered sothing under her breath and knelt nearby.
Luna watched her from the corner of her eye but didn’t speak.
Instead, she whispered just loud enough for Aiden to hear, "She’s watching ."
Aiden chuckled. "She’s probably wondering how you haven’t lted into my skin yet."
"I’m working on it," Luna said smugly.
---
Aiden swiped the air, bringing the system screen back up. He stared at the floating numbers, absorbing the data silently. Only he could see it—the interface, the stats, the bars.
The others didn’t even know the monsters had HP bars, let alone that so of them were color-coded threats.
One red bars in the last wave.
---
"Think we’ll get sothing cute next?" Luna asked suddenly, peeking at his blank gaze. "Like slis? Or maybe sothing fluffy?"
Aiden blinked. "You’re... hoping for fluffy monsters?"
"Just saying, if we get a giant bunny monster, I’m naming it Fluffnugget."
"...Please don’t."
"Too late."
Lysandra looked up from where she’d been quietly staring at them. "They were strong."
"They were," Aiden agreed. He didn’t ntion the red bars. No need to worry them yet.
Luna frowned faintly. "They’ll get harder. That’s what you’re thinking, right?"
Aiden gave her a glance, then a nod. "Yeah."
"...Good," she whispered, tightening her grip on his arm.
Lysandra glanced over, seeing the two pressed so close—Luna’s cheek against his shoulder, her hand twined in his shirt—and looked away again.
She said nothing.
But the tips of her ears were red.
---
SYSTEM NOTICE:
Wave Two Incoming – 00:30
---
END OF Chapter : 33 : THE FIRST WAVE : 1
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A/N: Please read this novel from .
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